[JAG]

Herb,
I am pleased to hear you found the culprit. I don't mean to call you out, but maybe as a reminder to all of us, that it is best practice to perform a gear swing after any gear maintenance that could affect the operation, indication or function of the gear. I am not sure what the Cessna manuals say - but I follow a simple rule; always perform landing gear tests (gear swing) in the hangar after such maintenance, especially when at a maintenance base. It not only ensures you fixed the problem, but in most cases can also reduce any in-flight turn backs or cancelled trips. I know, some problems can't be detected on the ground - but if we use Herb's case as an example - the problem most likely would have shown itself if they had tested the landing gear after initially fixing the first main gear switch wire.

Trust that you have found the problem, but don't forget to verify. This is true for all systems.

Side story - the other day, a friend of ours called me thinking she heard someone in her house in the night (she distinctly heard some one striking some piano keys). She was pretty shaken up. I went home with her and checked the entire house, inside and out. No signs of entry, everything looked secure, so we chalked it up to something strange with the electronic system on the player piano, and unplugged it. Besides, she had the house alarm armed the whole time. I went to leave from the front door (we had entered through the garage) and as I went to close the door, there was her house key still in the lock on the outside! Wow - she forgot it when she walked the dog the night before. Well, maybe this is just a freaky coincidence...the alarm was set, right? Right. "Trust, but verify". Let's test the alarm before I go - and guess what - all entry points in the house would set the alarm off...except the front door.

Trust, but verify.

Jeff